Sample Tests

Lynda: Half past seven? Dick: Half seven?s fine.

Lynda: Yes. OK, half seven on Monday then. Ivor: Right, see you then…

Things to Do During the Week ① Dick has got his yoga class. ② Dick?s giving a talk to the photographic club. ③ Lynda is visiting someone in hospital. ④ Lynda has got a concert. ⑤ It?s Lynda?s wedding anniversary. ⑥ Ivor?s baby-sitting for a friend. Monday ① Tuesday ⑤ Wednesday ⑥ Thursday ②③ Friday ④ They will probably meet at half past seven on Monday.

Part 3 listening Comprehension

A

Hair Loss and Heart Disease

American researchers have shown that men who are losing their hair may face an increased risk of heart disease. The researchers found that the greater the hair loss on the top of a man?s head, the greater the risk of heart problems.

Researchers at Brigham and Women?s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, organized the study. Their findings were reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. A few other studies have suggested a link between hair loss and heart disease. However, the new study is the largest. The American researchers examined medical information about more than 22,000 male doctors. All of the men were between the ages of 40 and 4 years old. The researchers studies the men for 11 years.

The study found that men with severe hair loss on the top of the head had a 36 percent greater risk of heart problems, such as a heart attack. This was in comparison to men with little or no hair loss. Men with moderate hair loss on the top of the head had a 32 percent greater. However, men with hair loss on the front of the head had only a 9 percent increased risk.

The researchers say the link was especially strong in men who had severe hair loss and high levels of cholesterol in the blood. High cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and a lack of physical activity are known to influence the development of heart disease.

The researchers say there several ideas about why male hair loss may be linked with heart disease. They say one reason may be the body?s production of higher than normal levels of androgens. Androgens are male sex hormones, such as testosterone. The researchers say the men with severe hair loss have more androgen reports in the skin on their heads. Earlier cause increased risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The researchers say their findings may help identify men at increased risk of heart disease. They say such men should take steps to control their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Exercise

1. F 2.F 3.T 4.F 5.T 6.F

B

Janet: Bruce, I think it?s time to go and meet Pam at the airport.

Bruce: Oh, no, we?ve no need to hurry. There?s plenty of time. It?s only half past eight. There won?t be much traffic

at this time of night.

Janet: You never know, and I think your watch must be slow. I make it 8:40, and you?ll have to stop for petrol. I?d

sooner we were too early than too late! Bruce: It?ll take her a while to get her luggage.

Janet: Oh, come on. Bruce! It?s time we were leaving. We can always have a coffee at the airport. Anyway, I like

watching people at the airport.

Bruce: I?d rather see the end of the football match, but never mind, we?d better go. Bruce: Janet! Hold on a minute, there?s the phone. Janet: You haven?t got time to answer it now. ignore it.

Bruce: No, I?d better see who it is. It might be important. Bruce McGregor speaking …oh, Pam, we were just on our

way to fetch you. Oh, no! Hold on, I?ll get Janet. Janet: Pam! Where are you?

Pam: I?m still in Edinburgh. The flight?s been delayed.

Janet: You caught us just in time. We were about to leave for the airport.

Pam: I know, Bruce said so I?m glad I phoned. You?d have had a long wait otherwise. Janet: When will you be leaving, do you think?

Pam: Oh, not for an hour at least. Look, don?t bother to come out to the airport. Janet: It?s no trouble. We?ll meet you. Pam: No, I?d rather you didn?t. Honestly. Janet: Now, don?t be silly, pam. We?ll collect you. Pam: No, Janet, I?d rather get a taxi. Janet: We?ll be there, Pam! See you later. Bruce: It?s nearly 12:30.

Janet: Well, we couldn?t let her find her own way. Not at this time of night!

Bruce: She knows how to look after herself. That plane landed half an hour ago. It?s about time she was here. Janet: It always takes ages to get your luggage.

Bruce: I know. It?s about time they did something about it. Last time, it took me longer than the flight. Janet: Oh, Bruce, there she is! Bruce: About time, too. Janet: Pam! Pam! Over here!

Bruce: I?ll go and bring the car round. I won?t be long.

Janet: Well, Pam, what would you rather do tomorrow morning, lie in or go shopping?

Pam: This morning, you mean! I?d rather go shopping, but there?s no need for you to get up and come with me. I?d

rather you had a lie in. You must be tired out!

Janet: I am a bit tired. But I?ll meet you for lunch. There?s a new restaurant just off Kensington High Street. Do you

think you?ll be able to find your way there?

Pam: Oh, Janet! It isn?t as if this were my first visit to London! You can tell me where it is in the morning.

Exercise

1. T 2.T 3.T 4.F 5.F 6.T 7.F

C Functional Age

Yet a third criterion for determining old age is functional age.

Definitions of functional age are based on how people look and what they can do. In functional terms, a person becomes old when he or she can no longer perform the major roles of adulthood. Among the Inuit Eskimos, for example, a man becomes old at around 50 when he can no longer hunt during the winter. Women become old about a decade later because the roles they perform are less physically strenuous*. Among the Black Carib of Belize, menopause is the market of old age for women. Thus, a woman may be old at 50, but a man still may be considered middle-aged at 60.

Functional age also may be measured by such normal physical changes as stiffness of joints, diminished short-term memory, reduced skin elasticity*, and diminished aerobic* capacity. People not only age in different rates as well. A physically fit marathon runner might have a severe hearing loss. A 54-yer-old man might be able to run longer (though probably not faster) than his 23-year-old son.

Finally, functional age may be determined by appearance. Gray hair and wrinkles are physical features we associate with old age. Yet in today?s world, hair dye and face-lifts* can alter appearances so dramatically that the normal signs of physical aging can be largely obscured*. For these reasons, functional criteria* may be misleading. To better classify people by their functional capacities, gerontologists have devised three categories: “well”, “somewhat impaired*”, and “frail.” The well elderly are people who are healthy and active. They are involved in social and leisure activities and are often employed or busy with volunteer work. They carry out family responsibilities and are fully engaged in the life of the community. The somewhat impaired elderly are those in a transitional stage. They are beginning to experience chronic ailments and need some assistance from family or community service agencies. Although they can participate in many aspects of life, they may need support in transportation, shopping, cleaning, or personal care. Finally, there are the frail elderly. They show some mental or physical deterioration* and depend on others for carrying out their daily activities. They need more care from family members ad may be in institutions. (A place for the care of persons who are destitute*, disabled, or mentally ill.)

Exercise

1. D 2.C 3.A 4.D 5.A 6.C 7.B 8.B

D

Coughing

A researcher in Poland says coughing hard may help people during the most common form of heart attack. Doctor Tadeusz Petelenz is a professor at the Silesian Medical School in Katowice. He studied 115 patients at risk of a heart attack. They were trained to cough at the first sign of an attack. They learned to start with one cough every one to two second, in sets of five coughs.

They used this method in 365 cases when they thought they were about to lose consciousness. Doctor Petelenz says the symptoms* disappeared in all but 73 cases.

Doctor Petelenz discussed his findings about “cough CPR*” during a recent meeting in Vienna of European Society of Cardiology*. He said the pumping action caused by deep coughing forces blood to the brain when the heart begins to fail. Traditional CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, combines rescue breaths with compressions* on the chest.

Most attacks are caused by a sudden problem with heart rhythm. Doctor Petelenz says coughing might help in these cases, called arrhythmia*. The traditional treatment is electric shock to the heart.

Doctor Petelenz says cough CPR should be taught to the public. Some doctors have patients cough to increase blood flow during hospital treatment for heart disease. But others say the idea of cough CPR needs more study.

The American Heart Association says it is possible that a person could send enough blood to the brain to stay conscious for a few seconds. But it says this practice is not useful enough to teach traditional lifesaving methods.

Exercise I

1. Coughing hard may help people during the most common form of heart attack.

2. He taught them to cough at the first sign of an attack, one cough every one to two seconds, in sets of five coughs.

3. He used this method in 365 cases. It did work in all but 73 cases. 4. No, some doctors say this idea needs more study.

5. It says this practice is not useful enough to teach with traditional lifesaving methods.

Exercise II

1. Deep coughing can cause the pumping action that forces blood to the brain when the heart begins to fail. 2. Coughing may give a person enough time to call for help.

3. Coughing may help the patients with the case caused by a sudden problem with heart rhythm.